The Double Date Conundrum
by NerdForestGirl
Summary: Penny and Amy have decided that they want to take their men on a double date. Sheldon seems reluctant at first, but will he let his competitive take over? Mostly Sheldon/Amy with some Leonard/Penny.
1. Chapter 1

"Why do we have to go on this double date?" Sheldon asked for what was probably the fifth time. His memory sure went out the window when he didn't want to do something.

"It's a non-optional social convention. Our girlfriends are friends. They want to do this, so if we want to keep our girlfriends, we have to go on this double date," Leonard explained. "Now, finish getting ready or we're going to be late to the movie."

"We are going to see some hippy-dippy girl movie. Who says I don't want to be late for it?"

Leonard was glad that they didn't have to pick up Amy. It would cut some of the time off getting to the movie theater. Sheldon was going to be difficult enough without adding more stops. Penny had texted to let him know that Amy was just across the hall as the girls were getting ready together. In all the years that Leonard had known Sheldon, he didn't think he would ever be going on a double date with him. First, because it was surprise to everyone that Sheldon even had a girlfriend. Then, because Leonard didn't believe that Sheldon would ever agree to go on one even after he met Amy.

They were just going to dinner and a movie, but Amy was very excited. When she mentioned to Penny that she wanted to go on a double date, she was a little worried that her bestie would laugh at her. Amy mentioned the fact that she had not had a best friend and a boyfriend at the same time, so she had never been on a double date with both. She did not mention that she never had a best friend or a boyfriend at all before. If Penny noticed this, she kept quiet on the matter. Instead, she called Leonard and started making plans for Friday night.

As easily as Sheldon accepted Amy into his life, he didn't really like breaking his calendar. It took several attempts to convince him to give up vintage video game night. Howard and Raj were out with their significant others anyway. So often it felt like Sheldon wasn't interested in growing up and moving forward like everyone else. Leonard often thought that Sheldon had the most arrested development of all of them. It was strange how the man could be so brilliant at physics, and so completely dim in other regards. Not that anyone would ever have the courage to mention it to him.

The girls planned an hour to get ready before they were supposed to leave for the movie. Amy arrived in a blouse, a green cardigan with black and white argyle patterns, and her usual pencil skirt. Penny wished she could get Amy to change her clothes some, but as Sheldon would say, she had wasted many an hour tilting at that particular windmill. Not that Penny really understood what that meant.

Penny was dressed in jeans and a red blouse, but she still needed to do her makeup. She would also try to do some makeup for Amy. It wasn't like Sheldon would be likely to notice, but Amy deserved to look pretty if she wanted to.

It didn't seem like a lot of time had gone by when the girls heard a familiar knock at the door. They didn't even get up until it was over.

Knock. Knock. Knock. "Penny and Amy."

Knock. Knock. Knock. "Penny and Amy."

Knock. Knock. Knock. "Penny and Amy."

Amy smoothed her hair and straightened her skirt. She followed Penny over to the door. There stood Sheldon in his Flash jersey shirt. It was her favorite shirt of his. She had a slight recollection of seeing that shirt as she leaned in and kissed him. Damn that vodka for stealing everything but the faintest glimpse of his lips on hers. Though, she was sure that she would have never had the confidence to kiss him without it. Despite what he said, she knew he kissed her back that night.

Penny and Leonard kissed hello. Sheldon and Amy nodded at each other and exchanged pleasantries and waited awkwardly. The differences between the couples was almost jarring. If an outsider were to look upon the exchange, they would assume that the second pair wasn't a couple at all.

Sheldon reminded them all that the movie was going to start in 23 minutes and that they needed to get going if they were going to get there in time. Leonard glared at Sheldon because he was the one who was just reminding him that they needed to get going.

Penny had chosen a movie that's commercials promised both aliens and romance. It seemed unlikely to have enough of either to satisfy both the boys and the girls, but it seemed the best option for the group.

When the group got to Leonard's car, Penny stood by the door to sit in the back with Amy, but Sheldon wanted to sit in the same seat.

"Sheldon, you always call 'shotgun,'" Penny commented.

"I was under the impression that this was a date. Isn't the correct protocol that I sit next to my girlfriend?" Sheldon responded.

"Fair enough," Penny said before she got in the passenger's seat.

After Leonard bought Penny's ticket, Sheldon bought Amy's ticket. It was an unexpected gesture as Sheldon generally made her buy her own ticket. She figured that she was going to have to buy his Red Vines and soda to make up for the cost of her ticket. They stood in companionable silence while Leonard ordered and then paid for his and Penny's snacks.

When it was Sheldon and Amy's turn, she started to open her mouth to order. Instead, Sheldon cut her off. "A pack of Sour Patch Kids, a small orange soda, a package of Red Vines, and a small Sprite." Amy looked at him in wide-eyed surprise. It wasn't that he remembered what she ordered because he simply remembered everything. It was that he noticed what she ordered when they went to the movies. He didn't even look at her as he paid for the two sodas and candy. Then he handed her her things and they walked to the theater.

Penny, Leonard, and Amy stood together near the stairs as Sheldon scoped out the best seats. Leonard and Penny were embarrassed by Sheldon's antics, but Amy thought it was kind of sweet that he was making sure they had the best possible seats to enjoy the movie. He waved them over when he finally found the perfect seats. Amy sat next to him with Penny on the other side of her. It was moments like this when she wished that she could go back to herself in high school and tell herself that it might be late, but one day she would be at the movies with a gorgeous boyfriend and an even more gorgeous best friend.

The trailers were starting and that would normally be the point when Amy would make Sheldon hold her hand. He'd been pretty vocal about hating it, so she didn't feel like pushing it right then. Out of the corner of her eye, Amy saw Leonard put his arm around Penny's shoulders. They sometimes made out at the movies. Amy hoped that they would hold off on the making out. It never seemed to really bother Sheldon, but it always made her a little uncomfortable and jealous. Making out in public wasn't the kind of thing she could ever see herself doing.

Amy saw Sheldon look over and see the couple cuddling. She couldn't understand the look on his face. It looked uncomfortable and contemplative. It wasn't like he hadn't seen them going a lot further than that. Sheldon lifted his left arm and then put it down again. He kept twitching it for the next several minutes. Amy was starting to get concerned. She leaned away from him, worried that he thought she was sitting too close.

The movie was going forgotten as Amy kept watching Sheldon struggle. She was about to ask him if he would like to leave for a moment when he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and lifted his arm one last time; placing it squarely on Amy's shoulders.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I love you guys. Thanks for the reviews and follows. LLTS.**

* * *

Amy wasn't sure if the aliens in the movie had come through the screen. Something had taken over Sheldon, and she wasn't sure aliens weren't the most likely answer. Then it clicked as she looked over at Penny and Leonard to see if they noticed Sheldon's strange behavior. He was copying Leonard. The movie ticket, the snacks, the arm. All of the little things were because Leonard had done them first.

Amy both wanted to confront Sheldon and see how far he was willing to take this. She decided to keep her mouth shut and pretend that nothing strange was happening. She didn't know what was fueling this, but she did know enough about Sheldon to know that he could be incredibly competitive. If that was why he was willing to put his discomfort on the shelf to make himself a better boyfriend than Leonard she was in for an adventure.

The date stayed pretty PG during the movie. There wasn't any kissing or touching beyond the arm around the shoulders. Amy liked the contract with Sheldon, but she wasn't as sure that he liked it. The muscles in his arm stayed tense the entire movie. In fact, if it weren't for the novelty of the contact, Amy probably would have preferred leaned against the seat. Though, she was pleasantly surprised how firm the muscles in his arm were.

When the big romantic ending started, Amy leaned into Sheldon's shoulder a little bit. She didn't look at him and she didn't care if he would be mad later. He started this nonsense about touching. She was just going to take advantage of it.

Instead of getting mad, Sheldon seemed to relax a little bit. Amy wished she'd done it an hour ago. It was so much more comfortable there.

The group left the theater only after all of the credits had rolled. Amy and Penny spent all of that time chatting because they didn't care who the key grip was or whose assistant was who.

"What was with the cuddling, Ames? Didn't Sheldon give you a talking to about holding hands not that long ago?" Penny asked.

Amy thought about telling her friend about her suspicions, but Penny was unlikely to keep that information to herself. Then, if Leonard knew, it would go one of two ways: he would be over the top affectionate to mess with Sheldon, and that would shut him down; or he would be kind to his friend and not push it. Either way Amy wouldn't find out how far Sheldon would go with this experiment.

Amy just shrugged. "I don't question him. I try to just go with it. For someone so regimented in everything, Sheldon can be kind of spontaneous sometimes."

"Haha. Sheldon? Spontaneous? That's a good one," Penny said.

Amy just gave her friend a knowing smile as Sheldon stood up on her right. She thought about how marvelous it was that no one seemed to know the same Sheldon that she did. Did they really never see how funny he could be or how sweet or yes, even spontaneous? It was true that he didn't always "get" her, but he showed up at her apartment just a few days ago with Thai food and a box set of some silly SciFi show because she told him that she'd had a really bad day at work. It was true that they didn't touch as often as she might like, but they had a relationship of the mind.

Amy often thought back to that first meeting in that coffee shop. She didn't have very many expectations about the man the website had set her up with. And even fewer after she read the first couple email correspondences. They read as if they had been written by someone with only a Master's degree instead of someone with two Doctorates as was mentioned in the profile. All she was trying to do was find someone who would actually meet her and therefore fill her obligation to her mother. The previous two matches had stood her up, so when she saw Sheldon walk in with two other guys, she rushed over to make an introduction. Talking seemed as good as an actual date for her purposes.

Once she started talking to him, he seemed quick witted and sure of himself. He didn't even walk away when she informed him that all forms of physical contact up to and including coitus were off the table. That had scared away the guys three, four, and five. Instead, it seemed to endear her to him, and he offered to buy her a drink.

They spoke that day for nearly an hour before Sheldon's friends dragged him away. Amy thought that she had at least met her mother's requirements to stay silent on the subject for the next year. Sheldon had taken her number before he left, and despite the connection that she thought she felt between them, she figured that she wouldn't hear from him again.

Then about an hour after she got home that night she received a text message: "It was really nice meeting you today. –Dr. Sheldon Cooper"

That was another thing that Amy loved about Sheldon. He didn't play any of the games that others did. One never wondered if Sheldon was going to do what he said or spent time fretting over his motivation. Sheldon was Sheldon pure and simple.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for reading. I love you. Also, sorry about any extra typos. My normal beta was not able to read this chapter for me. I hope you all enjoy. LLTS**

* * *

Leonard and Penny walked out of the theater in front of Sheldon and Amy. They didn't touch or hold hands, so Amy didn't expect any more contact from Sheldon for the time being. Instead, he was complaining about how he didn't find the movie to be very accurate.

"The ships didn't seem to have any real propulsion, and I can't believe that a species would evolve to be that peaceful. The whole thing seemed so unbelievable."

"But you believe in humanoid aliens in Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who? Do you know how statistically unlikely it would be that aliens would form to look like humans independently?" Amy countered.

"I have an IQ of 187. I understood that when I was three and a half years old. The difference is that in the films and television shows you mentioned are well written and well acted. That movie was nothing but pandering to both sexes to created a "date night" movie. You obviously fell for the advertising and manipulations. Or more likely, Penny did, as she was the one to orchestrate this date."

"Well, we'll still go to your favorite Chinese restaurant. I know that you are missing your vintage video games, but at least you get to spend the night with me," Amy said smiling at Sheldon. She expected one of his quips back about how the games would be more fun or interesting, but instead he looked into her eyes for a moment and then nodded.

Amy didn't realize how far back they had fallen. Leonard and Penny were already in the car. Amy tried to walk faster, but Sheldon didn't seem to mind their slower pace, so she slowed down again. Sheldon seemed to just enjoy her company. It was something that hadn't changed since the day they met. Whether it was over Skype, text, or in person, he made her feel like he liked just being with her.

They got to the car and once again, Sheldon sat in the back with Amy. Penny was chatting about the movie and how hot the guys were. It seemed to be making Leonard a little uncomfortable, but he seemed a little more willing to let things like that go since she had told him that she loved him. Amy wanted to study their brains. She found it fascinating that a few little words could do so much to change a relationship. What she wouldn't have given to hook up electrodes to Leonard's brain the first time that Penny had told him that she loved him. It was obvious that Leonard was the more emotional of the two, so that would be likely to garner a stronger reaction.

Amy was staring at Sheldon's forehead and thinking about the kind of reaction that he would give if she told him that she loved him. It seemed like he would be mad rather than pleased, but this must have distracted her for longer than she thought.

"Leonard, I would rather that you focused on the road and kept both hands on the wheel," Sheldon said.

Amy noticed that Leonard had taken one of Penny's hands in his own. She also couldn't help but agree with Sheldon. It would be much safer if Leonard waited until they reached the restaurant to share his amorous feelings with Penny. As Leonard released Penny's hand, Sheldon reached over and grabbed Amy's hand and pulled it to rest on his own leg. Once again, she could feel the tension and the discomfort in the way he touched her. It tested Amy's convictions. On one hand, she loved the random contact with Sheldon, but on the other she didn't like his discomfort. She didn't know if bringing it to his attention would make things worse or better. As much as she would never really admit to him, she loved Sheldon and absolutely wanted what was best for him.

Amy squeezed Sheldon's hand slightly and gave him a small smile. He relaxed slightly. This made Amy wonder if some of his nervousness was less from his normal hang ups and maybe a little bit from him being concerned how she felt. If only she could figure out exactly what he was thinking. She would ask him if the other two weren't around, but she found that he wasn't as forthcoming with her when others were there.

At the Chinese restaurant the two couples were seated in a booth. Sheldon usually didn't care for booths because the bench seating meant that he was either trapped or he would have to get up to let someone else out. It tended to disrupt his entire eating experience. However, the restaurant was packed given that it was Friday night, so they didn't have much of a choice.

Amy sat on the inside and Sheldon slid in next to her. She didn't even look at the menu because she knew that Sheldon would have a fit if he were unable to eat his regular food. This restaurant served everything "family style," so to avoid a Sheldon meltdown, she decided to just go with whatever he wanted.

Sheldon had released Amy's hand while they walked into the restaurant. She felt herself bending and stretching her hand as if it were injured. It felt different, but there was no pain or discomfort. She wished he would take it back. There was not a part of her that she wouldn't give him if he asked.

"Is everything okay?" Penny asked. She noticed that Amy was being quiet. Normally this would be the time that Amy would be telling them all some amusing anecdote about the monkeys in her lab. Honestly, Penny would rather hear about Amy's work than either of the boys. She didn't understand the science any better when Amy spoke, but at least the stories usually involved animals doing some really weird stuff to get access to drugs. The stories were better than the stuff she heard back in Nebraska about people wanting access to the meth her brother made.

Startled slightly by Penny's question, Amy looked up. "Yes. Everything is fine. How is work going for you?" Amy asked Penny, trying to get the attention on someone else. Amy sometimes forgot how observant her friend could be. Penny was often accused of being the "stupid" one in the group, but Amy knew that her bestie had a multitude of other talents, including understanding human emotions better than anyone else in the group.

Penny smiled at Amy like she knew something was up, but let it go. Then she started talking about a group of fifteen who came in and only left a three dollar tip. Amy knew she wasn't going to let it go just yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for reading. I love everyone who reads, reviews, favs, or follows. I hope you enjoy the chapter. LLTS.**

* * *

As soon as they had ordered, Penny got up to use the restroom. "Come on, Amy."

"I don't need to use the restroom," Amy responded.

"Non-optional social convention. Girls go to the bathroom in groups. Especially on a double date," Penny said.

Amy looked at Sheldon to see if he could help her get out of it. She knew that she was about to be throughly questioned, but he just shrugged and got up to let her out. Stupid non-optional social conventions.

Just as Amy assumed, Penny cornered her as soon as they were alone. "What's going on with you and the Shel-bot? I saw you cuddling during the movie and then you were completely gone a few minutes ago. We both know he is acting strange, even for Sheldon."

"Nothing is going on," Amy said as she looked at her shoes. She had never been a very good liar.

"We're friends. You can tell me what is going on. Did you two decide to be more intimate?" Penny asked.

"No. I don't know what he has going on in his brilliant mind. He didn't tell me, and I haven't yet had a chance to ask. I do have a hypothesis, but I can't tell you because you'll tell Leonard and that will ruin the whole experiment."

"Leonard?"

Amy nodded.

"I don't understand. What does Leonard have to do with the way Sheldon has been acting?"

Amy sighed. She supposed that she would have to tell her friend eventually. "I think that Sheldon has been copying Leonard during this date. He has done a number of unusual things tonight and I've noticed that most if not all have been preceded by Leonard doing it. Sheldon bought my movie ticket and ordered my snacks. He only put his arm around me after you two were cuddling at the movie, and he held my hand in the car after he chastised Leonard for doing the exact same thing. I didn't want to tell you about it because I didn't want whatever experiment Sheldon is conducting to be influenced by you knowing about it. You know Leonard. If he finds out about this he is likely to either shut down physical contact out of concern for his friend or he will go over the top to make Sheldon uncomfortable. You can't tell Leonard about this and you can't do anything different. Use those acting skills. This is likely to be the farthest I'll get with Sheldon for a really long time. I'm begging you, bestie."

"Okay. I won't tell Leonard."

"Thank you, bestie," Amy said before giving her friend a hug.

"Okay, get off me. I actually have to pee now," Penny said, pushing Amy back slightly.

They returned to the table, and the food had already arrived. Leonard had waited for him the come back before eating, but Sheldon had a plate full of food carefully arranged in front of himself. Amy suppressed a sigh. Maybe Sheldon was back to himself, but after he stood up to let Amy back in, he pushed the plate in front of Amy and took another to gather food for himself. Leonard hadn't even done that for Penny.

The mystery was burning Amy enough that she almost started screaming at Sheldon. He never played coy or confused her as much as he was in that moment. She studied him, and caught a slight look of haughty derision aimed at Leonard. Maybe it wasn't some sort of imitation thing as she suspected. Obviously, Sheldon had some kind of plan in his head, but uncharacteristically, he also was improvising some of it.

Penny was bursting to tell Leonard about Amy's suspicions and find out what he knew about Sheldon's behavior. She didn't believe that Leonard would work to make Sheldon uncomfortable, and this was too good not to share. Leonard got up to use the restroom. Penny's eyes followed him, but she stayed sitting at the booth. It wasn't until he came back out that she dropped her fork and ran over.

"That was weird," Amy remarked.

"Was it?" Sheldon responded as he continued to eat.

Amy was worried first that Penny was going to tell Leonard about Sheldon. Then, once she spotted them making out in the corner of the restaurant, she was worried about what Sheldon might do. As unlikely as it seemed, she was petrified that he might want to copy them. Some of the things Leonard and Penny were doing might be fine to try back at home, but even Amy didn't want to kiss Sheldon like that in the middle of a busy restaurant.

Amy was right to be worried about Penny. She used the kissing as an excuse to talk to Leonard.

"What do you know about Sheldon's behavior?" Penny asked as she kissed Leonard's neck.

"What the hell is going on? Did your brain short circuit?" Leonard asked as he pulled away from Penny. It might very well be the first time he had ever pulled away from her as she tried to kiss him.

"Sheldon is acting weird even for Sheldon. He has been being extra considerate and physical with Amy tonight. He's also been copying some of the "boyfriend" things you've been doing. I told Amy that I wouldn't talk to you about it, but you're his roommate. I want to know if you know anything, so I'm using this make out session to hide from Amy and find out what you know," Penny said so fast that it Leonard a second to catch up.

"I honestly don't know anything about it, and I didn't even notice him copying me," Leonard said. Penny was starting to pull away from him to go back to the table, but he stole a couple of extra kisses first.

Sheldon was starting to notice that Leonard and Penny had been gone for a while. He was looking around a little bit, and Amy wanted to distract him. Her brain was still stuck on figuring him out, so instead of asking him about work or one of his science fiction programs like she meant, "Why are you acting so different tonight?" came out instead. Unfortunately, that was also the exact moment that Leonard and Penny made their return.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As usual, I would like to thank you for reading and reviewing. LLTS**

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Amy was shocked that she had asked the question and then frustrated that she wouldn't get her answer. Sheldon had opened his mouth, but had quickly shut it again. Damn Leonard and Penny's timing. They sat back down across from Amy and Sheldon.

Leonard hadn't been paying attention to Sheldon over the course of the night, so he wanted to test Penny's theory out some. It needed to be something small, but still out of Sheldon's comfort zone. A kiss didn't seem right. It felt too big and too small at the same time. Then he had it.

Leonard pierced one of the dumplings from his plate and offered it to Penny. She smiled at him and took the food he offered. Amy knew right then that Penny had said something to Leonard. She couldn't hate her bestie for long, but telling Leonard right after she promised not to was going too far. She glared at Penny.

"Thank you, sweetie," Penny said before putting her head on Leonard's shoulder, but wouldn't even look at Amy.

Amy tensed and waited for Sheldon's response. At first she thought he wasn't going to do anything. He pushed his food around and was decidedly not looking up. He stabbed at a piece of food and picked it up off the plate. He stared at it and moved it up and down several times. _Oh, God, he's going to try it_, Amy thought. Then he just ate the piece himself. He was really struggling with this one. Amy panicked because she knew how easily he could shut down.

"It's okay," Amy whispered. She pressed her leg into his and he nodded and relaxed a little. Amy looked at Penny like, "this is why I didn't want you to tell Leonard."

Sheldon was quieter than normal after that, but dinner went back to being casual. Amy didn't know if Sheldon knew that everyone seemed to suspect that he was up to something, but she would rather enjoy a normal dinner with her boyfriend than watch him struggle like that. They constantly felt like they were walking a tightrope between what she wanted and what he wanted. She loved their relationship, but it was hard when she always wanted more and he always wanted less. She hated the idea of him being so uncomfortable on her account. A little push here and again was a good thing, but sending Sheldon toward a nervous breakdown wouldn't get her anywhere.

They ordered dessert. Leonard and Penny shared a fruit cobbler and Amy ordered a bowl of vanilla ice cream, but Sheldon declined. Amy was surprised by that given Sheldon's sweet tooth and hoped that she wasn't responsible. _I should have never asked for this stupid double date. All I did was ruin Sheldon's night_, she thought.

The waitress brought the cobbler with two forks for Leonard and Penny and Amy's ice cream with two spoons. "She'll only need one spoon, thank you," Sheldon said as he handed her back the spoon.

Amy shook her head. The ice cream was good quality with little flecks of vanilla bean in it, so she was enjoying eating it. She smiled at Sheldon and teased, "You should have kept that spoon. This is very good." She knew that it was unlikely that he would even share a bowl with her, so the spoon would have not helped. Still, it really was good and she wished that he had ordered something.

"Can I have some?" he asked a little shyly.

"Yeah. Let me call the waitress back over so we can order you a bowl," Amy said looking around the room, trying to spot their waitress.

"No. I mean, can I have some of yours?"

"Of course," she said sliding the bowl slightly toward him, but unsure how he was going to eat it. He grabbed the spoon from her hand and scooped a small bit of ice cream onto it. She couldn't look away from his mouth as he put the spoon that had just been in her mouth into his own. His lips thinned as they pulled into a slight smile.

"This is good," he said as he took another bite.

He handed her back the spoon and she continued to eat her ice cream. After another couple of bites, he took the spoon back. They ate the rest of the bowl like that; sharing the spoon and the ice cream. Plus, somehow, they both looked like the happiest people on the planet while doing it. It wasn't gooey or overly affectionate like Leonard and Penny, across the table, but it was still sweet and intimate in its own way.

Leonard thought that Penny might have something with her idea. Sheldon hadn't fed Amy like he had with Penny, but there was something there. Sheldon wouldn't even share an unused napkin with Leonard. This was Amy specific behavior. He was willing to take food off of her plate and he was willing to share a spoon with her. It obviously wasn't easy, but for Amy he was willing to try.

"Oh my God," Leonard said out loud. He hadn't meant to say anything, but he came to an Earth shaking revelation. Sheldon Lee Cooper was in love with Amy. It was so obvious that Leonard couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it sooner.

"What?" Penny asked.

"Nothing. This cobbler is, like, really good," Leonard said trying to cover.

Leonard didn't know if Sheldon even knew that he was in love with Amy. It seemed like the kind of thing that Sheldon would be completely oblivious about, and if Leonard said anything, Sheldon would completely deny it. Or maybe Sheldon had realized it. Maybe that was why he was trying so hard with Amy. The only thing Leonard knew he could do was to stay out of it. At least he was a lot better than Penny at keeping a secret. This was secret worth keeping.


	6. Chapter 6

The drive home was awkward at best. The girls hadn't spoken a word to each other since Amy discovered that Penny had told Leonard about Sheldon. Leonard was keeping a careful non-contact stance with Penny because he was worried about how his actions might be interpreted and extrapolated by Sheldon. He cared about his friend and didn't want to send him over the edge. Amy was terrified to touch Sheldon at all because he had worked so hard all night to care about her needs. She felt like it was the least she could do to do the same.

Amy caught his eye and smiled. Sheldon smiled back and his eyes sparkled a little bit. Even if the night hadn't gone exactly how Amy had hoped, she felt incredibly lucky. Sheldon really was the best boyfriend in the world. She looked out the window and watched the world go by. She hated that he had to work so hard to do the things that others could do without another thought, but he had to have some affection for her if he was willing to work so hard. She loved him all the more for it. She felt his fingers curl around her's and she smiled at the world out her window.

The quartet walked up the stairs quietly. Sheldon still held Amy's hand, so Leonard thought it was okay to hold Penny's. He wanted to laugh at how the tables had turned. He was taking cues from Sheldon now about a relationship. If he hadn't only been doing it out of concern for Sheldon, he would have assumed that they had fallen into an alternate reality.

Upstairs in the space between the apartments the couples were trying to figure out if and how they would break up this date. Penny started to drag Leonard into her apartment, but he claimed that he needed to go grab his new inhaler before he could join her. He walked into his home and Sheldon followed, clearly waiting for Amy to come in as well.

"Sheldon, I need a moment to speak to Penny before I come in," Amy said. Penny looked worried, but Amy wasn't going to let that bother her. She waited until Sheldon had closed the door and then she turned to Penny. "We can talk about this out here or in your apartment. I don't really care."

"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't think that Leonard would do anything different, and I thought if he knew what was going on with Sheldon, I could tell you what happened," Penny explained as she unlocked her door.

"You promised me that you wouldn't say anything. I thought you understood human behavior better than that. Granted you aren't a trained anthropologist or sociologist, but I always thought you got it. I knew that Sheldon was struggling, so I asked you to keep one secret. I knew that this friendship was always a little one-sided, but I was willing to accept that. I just didn't know that you would go out of your way to hurt me. It's no different than those girls in high school," Amy said angrily. Penny had never seen her so passionate about anything. Penny realized that Amy loved Sheldon, and felt terrible about telling her secret to Leonard.

"I'm sorry, Amy. I really am your friend. I hope that you'll forgive me," Penny said. Amy could see how earnest Penny was being. Amy nodded, but didn't have a chance to answer because that was when Leonard came through the door. She left without another word and went to find Sheldon.

Sheldon was in his kitchen boiling water for tea. He greeted Amy as she let herself in. She was glad that he hadn't admonished her for not knocking before coming in. She walked over to him and he poured her a cup of tea. It was her favorite camomile with a small amount of honey. This, she was not surprised he remembered since he had made her a number of cups when she was sick with the flu.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome."

Neither said anything for several minutes. Amy was afraid to bring up the topic she really wanted to learn more about, and Sheldon was just enjoying the quiet time alone with Amy after such a chaotic night.

"What did you need to discuss with Penny?" He finally asked.

"She told Leonard something right after she promised that she wouldn't," she said vaguely, but Sheldon was relatively sure what it was about. He might not be good at understanding human interactions, but everyone had acted so weird that even he started to pick it up.

"It wasn't an experiment," he said finally.

"What?"

"My behavior tonight wasn't an experiment. You told me some weeks ago that you felt like they believed our relationship was a joke. That led me to do some research to find out what one should do on a date while in a relationship. I was trying to prove to you and to them that I don't think what we have is a joke. I was trying to act 'more normal,'" he said using finger quotes.

"You don't have to act more normal for me, Sheldon. I love you the way you are," Amy said. Then she clamped her hand over her mouth. Damn, his honesty was catching. She didn't plan on telling Sheldon that she loved him for another six months at least.

They looked at each other in stunned silence. She was panicking, but he was stock still.

"I heard you, you know," he said.

"I'm so sorry, Sheldon. I didn't mean to say that. How about one of those relationship resets, like after the time that I kissed you."

"I didn't mean now. I meant the time that you told your monkeys that you wished you had a 'normal boyfriend.' You were still up on Skype on my computer, and I heard you. I know that they are just your monkeys, but I didn't realize that you were so troubled by what we have. That's how I know what you just said isn't true." Sheldon looked sad. Sadder than Amy had ever seen him look. She didn't know how to comfort him.

"It's not true. I know I said that, but I didn't mean it. I would rather have you with your biggest quirks than someone like Leonard or Howard any day of the week. I sometimes get frustrated because I... um... care about you very much, and that makes me feel so different. I've never felt like this about anyone. Ever. So, yeah, I'll admit that I occasionally wish that you were able to do more normal relationship things with me, but I would never ask you to compromise yourself for it. I loved having you hold my hand and eat ice cream with me, but I hated seeing you that uncomfortable. Maybe we can work on finding the things that work best for both of us? Together."


	7. Chapter 7

"Together? Does that mean that you'll stop pushing me toward coitus?" Sheldon asked.

Amy sighed. Sheldon was always so straight forward that he was a little hard to deal with sometimes. "I can't promise that I will stop completely. I wouldn't be comfortable jumping right into bed with you right now even if you changed your mind, but it is something that I want with you. Eventually," Amy said, feeling shy. They rarely spoke so frankly about the intimate details of their lives together.

Sheldon looked conflicted and a little relieved. He constantly felt like he was going to lose Amy because he couldn't do the things she wanted. It felt good to know that much of her talk was just that. The fact that she seemed to be just as adverse to touch was one of the things that initially drew him to her. He wasn't afraid of holding her hand anymore even if he didn't understand why she liked it so much. He felt like they had made so much progress in the years that he had known her, but she always wanted more.

"You say that you want it eventually, but what if I can't ever give you everything that you want? What if I can't give you marriage and children and everything you've ever wanted?"

"You aren't a genie. You don't exist to give me my every wish. I told you; I want to work together to find acceptable affection for both of us. You didn't seem to hate holding my hand or having your arm around me. We could start there. It was hard for you, but you managed both very well this evening."

Sheldon nodded. He liked hearing that he had done well with his contact with Amy. Even if he wasn't very good at it, he wanted to make sure that Amy knew that he cared about her. He acknowledged that it was difficult to touch her, but not impossibly so. It got easier with time he noticed. Sometimes he found that he even wanted to hold her hand or touch her hair.

"Would you feel better if we arranged a timetable for various amorous activities in the Relationship Agreement or wing it?" Amy asked. She wanted to reassure him that she did love him and that his comfort and happiness were just as important to her as physical contact.

"I'm never a fan of 'winging' anything," Sheldon said. "I'll need time to do some calculations and research about all of this before the Agreement can be changed though."

"That sounds like a reasonable compromise. Would you like me to leave so that you can do that research?"

"You are eager, but no. I would rather that you stay a little longer if you have time. I feel like I didn't get to talk to you at all. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of this whole double date nonsense. It's a bunch of malarkey. It felt like pretend," Sheldon said.

"That might have been because you were working so hard to prove that our relationship isn't a joke," Amy commented.

"No it wasn't that. It felt like I was being held back from really spending time with you by the presence of Leonard and Penny. If I'm going to go through the whole bother of a date night, I would rather it be with just you."

"Bother?" Amy asked. She hated when he made it sound like such an obligation to spend time with her.

"Yes. The amount of time that it takes me to get ready for these dates takes away from my normal schedule. I like it so much more when we just go to the zoo or have dinner here at the apartment."

Amy wanted to laugh because Sheldon looked exactly the same as he did on every other day. It made her wonder what he did specially for their date nights.

"What do you do that is so special for our date nights?"

"I have to take an extra shower, iron my t-shirt, and get my haircut. Honestly, Amy, I can't believe that you don't notice," Sheldon said. "I notice every time you wear a new sweater and I noticed that you are wearing makeup, which I assume is Penny's doing. I think your skin looks better without it, but the color combinations do highlight the coloring of your eyes quite well."

Amy was speechless. It shouldn't have surprised her so much that he noticed all of these little things just because he didn't ever mention them. Why did he have to be so damn sexy, but untouchable. Amy flexed her hands a few times to regain control of her thoughts before rejoining his conversation.

Sheldon tried to explain why various ComicCons were better than others, and Amy tried to understand why anyone would want to dress up like cartoon characters and wander through crowded halls of people. Overall, it had turned into a pretty normal date for them once they were back to the apartment. They didn't even realize how late it was until Leonard came back into the apartment to go to bed.

"Oh, you guys are still up? Sheldon, shouldn't you have gone to bed, like, an hour ago?" Leonard asked as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

Sheldon checked the time. "Yes, that appears to be the case. I guess I should go to bed now. Goodnight, Amy Farrah Fowler."

He stood to walk her to the door and he leaned down to give her a hug. Amy reached her arms around Sheldon's waist to return the hug. She didn't get a goodnight kiss, but she felt encouraged by the fact that he ended the date with any kind of physical contact.

"I look forward to hearing the results of you're research," Amy said.

"You'll be the first to know what I find out," Sheldon responded. Amy liked the way he smiled when he said it. Maybe he was more serious about their relationship than she believed.


	8. Chapter 8

Amy drove home in silence. She didn't care for music while she was driving, but even NPR was too much for her busy mind. She had semi-successfully completed her first double date, but more importantly, she had had an important talk with Sheldon about their relationship. She wondered what he would decide, but she tried not to let it keep her up all night.

Sheldon decided to start on that research the next day, but he wasn't sure where to start. He did an internet search, but it was confusing and there were too many conflicting answers. Most of the advice that he found was to "move at a pace that makes you feel comfortable." What kind of malarky was that? If he moved at the pace that made him comfortable, he would lose Amy. That was the whole point of doing this research. He threw up his hands and frustratedly walked away from his computer into the kitchen.

"What's up?" Leonard asked from his own computer.

"It's Amy. She wants me to devise a timetable to describe how we move forward in our physical relationship. Other than sex after three dates, I can't find any information on what is considered 'normal' in this regard," Sheldon explained.

"Yeah. You guys missed that boat a while ago," Leonard commented.

"Also, that infernal book that you gave me doesn't have any valuable information. I still don't know why you gave it to me."

"Why don't you just forget what other people do? You and Amy aren't normal and neither is your relationship. Why don't you figure out what you want to do and then figure out when you think you can do it. For example, hand holding doesn't seem to be a problem for either of you at this point, so you could implement that immediately."

"I know I can hold her hand. I need help figuring out what to do in the future. What do you do with Penny?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm not going to give you the details of my love life with Penny. Why don't you use the base system and make choices there upon."

"Base what, Leonard? Base ten? Base two? How is binary going to help me figure out what to do with Amy?" Sheldon asked. He was more confused than ever.

"No, genius. It's like baseball; first base, second base, third base, and home. I'm not going to explain them to you. You can look up romantic bases yourself."

Sheldon did as Leonard suggested and was mortified. "You mean, I am expected to engage in all of these activities with Amy? But the first one alone requires an awful lot of germ sharing. How am I going to do any of this?" Sheldon put his head in his hands.

"Buddy, just take it one step at a time. You said that she let you choose the timetable. It sounds like she just wants reassurance that you actually want to do those things with her. If you really don't think you can ever do them, then you need to be honest with her," Leonard told him.

Sheldon thought about what he could do with Amy. She had always been different and he didn't have the same kind of fears of touching her that he had with others. Would the first "base" be so bad? If it meant that he could keep Amy, it seemed worth trying it. Plus, if Leonard was right, Amy didn't need him to rush over to her apartment and do this right now. If he told her that he would kiss her like that a month or two months from now, she might be okay with that.

Sheldon read the description of "second base" again, and that actually seemed easier than the first. Having to share saliva was a lot more dangerous than some touching. He wished he could do them out of order, but they were clearly numbered. "Third base" seemed terrifying and he decided to ignore it and "home" for the time being.

The timetable was finished by the end of the night. Sheldon knew that he would want to proofread it again before he gave it to Amy, but he felt pretty satisfied by the whole thing. He even decided to Skype Amy for a little while since he had not seen her all day.

Amy was making dinner in her kitchen when she heard a familiar beeping from her computer on the coffee table. She left her stir-fry in the pan for a moment to answer the call coming in on her computer.

"Hey, Sheldon," she said as she picked up the computer and took it back to the kitchen with her.

"Hello, Amy. Are we in your kitchen?" he asked.

"Well, I can see that you are at your desk and that I'm in my kitchen, so yes. I was making dinner when you called, so I brought my computer in here as to not let my dinner burn."

"What are you having?"

"Stir-fry with chicken," Amy said, holding up her pan so that he could see.

"That looks better than what I was planning. Leonard isn't here to go get dinner and my normal Saturday dinner won't deliver if I call anymore. I am looking at some sort of frozen concoction. My schedule is ruined and it's not even for something good."

"You're more than welcome to come over here and join me if you want."

Sheldon sighed, "I would love that, but it's laundry night. My whole week will be ruined if I don't get my clothes cleaned."

Amy smiled. She thought Sheldon's quirks were amusing. "How about I package this all up and come over there instead? You said Leonard was going to be out anyway."

That sounded a lot better to Sheldon than bad frozen food and a night alone. "That sounds great. I'll see you soon." Then Sheldon closed his laptop to end the call. He needed to proofread that timetable and get his laundry ready before Amy arrived.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, guys. First and foremost, thanks for your continued support. You guys are awesome. Second, I would like to apologize for being a little OOC on this chapter. Sometimes it's hard not to let them get a little crazy.**

* * *

Amy knocked on Sheldon's door twenty minutes after she had hung up with Sheldon. She had a cooler filled with the stir-fry, rice, a small cake she picked up from the store on her way over, and a four pack of YooHoo. She hoped it was all Sheldon appropriate.

"Amy's food delivery service," Amy said with a smile.

Sheldon let her into the apartment and helped her unpack and serve the dinner she brought him. They took their plates over to the couch to eat. Sheldon was concerned because he only had a half an hour before he was supposed to start his laundry. Maybe they would have to discuss the affection timetable down in the laundry room.

"Thanks for bringing me dinner, Amy. Can we have dessert after we finish my laundry and discuss the timetable I drew up?"

"You already finished the timetable, Sheldon?"

"Yes. It seemed important to you, so I spent most of my day on that research. My Lego Enterprise sits still unbuilt because of it."

"This isn't an arbitrary decision, Sheldon. I will expect you to actually follow through with what you've laid out."

"First of all, it does not go all the way to coitus. This is just a preliminary draft. I expect that there will need to be a certain amount of give and take on all of this. Second, you haven't even seen it yet, so I ask that you reserve judgement until after you have read through it."

"Fair enough," Amy said. She was suddenly anxious to see the document that Sheldon had drafted.

At exactly 8:15, Sheldon went to his room to collect his laundry basket while Amy put the leftovers in the fridge. She loved being so completely domestic with Sheldon. It made her feel like their future could include things like marriage, a house, and maybe even children. Sheldon had a folder of papers along with his clothes. After they walked down the stairs, he handed Amy the folder so that she could look through the papers while he got his clothes started.

Amy started looking at the papers. There was an explanation of his exact definition of first and second base. He considered first base to be open-mouthed kissing with tongues involved. It was not to go beyond ten minutes without checking in with one another to make sure that they were okay to continue. Either party was allowed to stop at any time without penalty for any reason.

Second base was broken into two parts. The first part was touching above the waist with shirts on and the second part was touching above the waist with shirts off. There were similar time restrictions and the same ability to stop whenever either party wanted to. She liked the definitions of what they would be doing because these things didn't always mean the same things to everyone. The strictness just seemed like Sheldon, so she could understand that too.

The second page had a calendar that went out six months. It had a bunch of symbols on it that she couldn't decipher, so she skipped to page three. It contained a key for the symbols as well as dates of future physical milestones. It appeared that they would have their first open-mouthed kiss in about six weeks. Then there was only two more weeks after that until he thought he would be willing to touch her outside of her clothes. That made sense since saliva seemed like it would be one of his sticking points.

It was strange to see all of these things that always seemed to be organic for other couples mapped out, but that was exactly what she asked for, wasn't it? _If you want these things, you'll have to play by his rules_, Amy thought. Then again, it felt like it took all of the romance out of their relationship. That wasn't what Sheldon did the best anyway, but she could see that he was trying.

Sheldon precisely measured his detergent and cleaned out the lint traps before he finally turned back to Amy. She was looking up at him and waiting for him to be done with preparing his laundry to be washed.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

"I don't know what to say. Do you think that you'll really be able to do all of these things? I mean, according to this, you will hold my hand starting now. It also looks like I get a goodnight peck on the lips at the end of dates starting immediately. Is this a date? Will you give me a kiss at the end of the evening or does it not start until official date night?"

"I didn't plan for this night when I wrote that up," Sheldon said, but he didn't answer any of her questions. He didn't know if he could actually do any of the things he wrote up until he tried them. He couldn't try them until he had prepared. He couldn't prepare until he had some idea what he was doing. It was a vicious cycle and he couldn't take it anymore. The tiny voice in his head that told him to just forget about all of the planning and the fear was getting louder. He pulled the papers out of her hands and slammed them down on the folding table.

"Amy, I'm so tired of the speculation of when we will kiss or make love or get married. I don't want to do this anymore," Sheldon said tiredly.

Amy was suddenly very terrified that he was going to break up with her. Was that what he was saying? It sounded like it. She had pushed him too far and he was acting strange. Sheldon never said, "make love." He also never sounded as angry as he did right then. He was acting so weird, and it concerned Amy.

"Let's just forget it, Sheldon. We can just-" Amy was cut off by Sheldon pressing his lips against hers.


	10. Chapter 10

Sheldon didn't know exactly _how_ to kiss Amy. He meant to research it before their next date night, but his feelings crept up on him and he didn't know what to do next. Sheldon thought that Amy had nearly as little experience as he did, but once she got over her shock that he was kissing her in the first place, she started moving her lips against his. Her lips were soft and relaxed as they moved, and Sheldon tried to mimic what she was doing. He felt like he couldn't get the hang of it and pulled back.

Amy still looked stunned, but her eyes were closed. Sheldon touched her cheek with his right hand and her eyes fluttered open. She made a sound that might have been a "hoo," but it was covered by Amy's hand covering her mouth.

"I don't think I'm any good at this. This is why I need planning and research and practice. I need more time. You can't leave me because I still need time to figure this all out. I'm sure I can find information online or do interviews or-" This time Sheldon was cut off by Amy's lips on his. She left it at just a peck, but it still did the job of silencing him.

"Sheldon, first of all, you did just fine. Better than fine, actually. Really good, actually. Second of all, I'm not expecting you to be some kind of expert in romance or physical intimacy. We're both learning here."

"You knew what you were doing," Sheldon said quietly.

Amy smirked. "I read a lot of romance novels. I gave it a shot. Please don't give up on me, on us, just yet. There was something in there," Amy placed a finger on his temple, "that made you want to kiss me."

"Does that mean that you are willing to teach me?"

"Why don't we teach each other? You can tell me about the things that you like, and I'll tell you about the things that I like. It might require some experimentation. Can you handle that?"

"What kind of experimentation?"

"Well, I know that you don't really like to be touched, so we could see if there is a kind you prefer. Give me your hand." Sheldon put his hand out with the palm up. Amy laced her fingers though his. "This is how we hold hands at the movies, but given that you have expressed your displeasure about it a number of times, we'll assume that you don't like this."

Then Amy shifted her hand so that the palms were still touching, but at a different angle so that the fingers weren't laced together. She ran her thumb over his fingers. "Is this better or worse?"

He looked like he was deep in thought while stared at their hands and contemplated her question. "I like this better," he finally said.

She noted his response and then placed his hand so that it was holding the top of hers. "This is like how you held my hand when Howard went into space. Better or worse?"

"I liked the second one best," Sheldon admitted.

"Okay. Well, if we hold hands, I know which style you like the best." Amy reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer. She poured some on her own hand and then some into Sheldon's hand that was still held out in front of him.

Sheldon rubbed his hands together and then put his hand back out like he was ready to continue the experiment. He wondered what kind of touching she wanted to do that involved sanitizing both of their hands.

"What's next?" Sheldon asked.

"Nothing. I thought you might want to have some hand sanitizer after all of that touching," Amy said, but the she thought better of it. "That is, unless, did you want to test something?" Putting the ball in Sheldon's court might get some interesting results.

Amy watched Sheldon's adam's apple move as he swallowed. It was incredibly attractive to see him nervous, but she waited quietly while he got up the courage to speak.

"Could you remove your hair clip?" Sheldon finally asked. Amy was intrigued as she reached up and snapped her barrette open and pulled it out of her hair. Then Amy stood perfectly still as Sheldon reached his hand out and ran his hand through Amy's hair. She shivered as his fingers ran along her scalp. Then he stretched his fingers out as his hand pulled through her hair. It was softer than he could believe and he caught the last few strands between his fore finger and thumb as the rest of her hair fell back down to her shoulders. He twisted the last few strands before letting them fall too.

Amy looked at him expectantly, waiting for his response to what he just did, but just said, "interesting," before turning to the washer to move his clothes to the dryer.

"Did you learn anything?" Amy asked.

"Your hair is very soft and might require further study," Sheldon said with a little smirk. Amy was excited that he liked touching her hair. Any time he touched her because he wanted to rather than because she asked him to was exhilarating.

They left the experiments alone for the rest of the evening. Once Sheldon's laundry was dried, folded, and put away, the pair ate their dessert and chatted normally. When it was time for Amy go Sheldon walked her to the door and she looked up at him.

"Thanks for bringing me dinner," Sheldon said.

"Anytime," Amy said.

Amy thought she should walk away, but instead she kept looking into Sheldon's blue eyes. He didn't make any attempt to close the door or make her leave. Amy wondered if he was going to kiss her again, but he gave her a hug instead. At least he was trying. Maybe they could plan for a few more experiments for next time.


	11. Chapter 11

By the time that Amy had gotten home there was an email waiting in her inbox. It was from Sheldon suggesting that they write up their experiments and submit them to each other in advance. Amy agreed and sent back an email telling him so. This whole thing was going to need some planning and Amy felt a lot more comfortable knowing that Sheldon would have a chance to shoot down anything that was too hard for him.

She noticed that Sheldon had also included a form that followed the scientific method. It was quite elaborate, but that made it comforting. She set out to make a list of experiments she would like to conduct with Sheldon. They were nearly all physical because she felt like other than possibly saying that she loved Sheldon, there was nothing that she couldn't say to him. Amy smiled when she realized that. He always listened to what she had to say and was also very thoughtful in his replies.

_He really is the best boyfriend_, Amy thought as she looked through all of the forms that he had sent her. She thought of his kiss and the passion that was behind it. Sheldon had thought he wasn't very good at kissing her, but he had expressed so much caring and excitement in his actions that she was nearly brought to her knees by it.

Amy spent the next several hours coming up with a series of experiments to try with Sheldon. It wasn't the first time that she had devised a series of experiments in regards to her boyfriend. Sheldon had been a relatively good sport when she tried to make him increase his affection for her and when she had tried to help him with his need to finish things. It wasn't always easy, but he had even called her a good girlfriend after the second set. She hoped he still felt the same way when he saw her list of experiments.

On the other side of town, Sheldon was trying to create his own experiments. He was glad that Amy had come up with this idea. It gave him a chance to understand what he could do with Amy without feeling like he needed to be an expert at it. He could do his research and planning and then try it with a willing participant who could explain if she liked it or not. It seemed a whole lot more reasonable than just jumping in and being good at everything. Sheldon was a genius and he could pick most things up very quickly, but it was hard to be good at everything on the first try.

Sheldon was looking through the book that Leonard and Penny had gotten him, but he wasn't really interested in doing the things in there just yet. Instead, Sheldon decided to give up on it for the evening and watch some TV. He turned on Doctor Who and he was enjoying the rerun until River Song started kissing The Doctor. It was reminding him the very thing he was trying to avoid, so he switched it.

All of the programs had some sort of romance in them. Was it always that way? Did Harry Potter always spend so much time kissing Ginny? Sheldon knew that Captain Kirk got around, but if Sheldon had to see him kiss one more alien woman, he was going to scream. Eventually, he gave up and went to bed.

It wasn't any better when he was alone. Sheldon lie in bed with his blankets wrapped tightly around him, but sleep wouldn't come to him. Instead, he just thought about Amy's hair and her skin and her lips. He thought about how she said that she loved him even though they both pretended that she had never said it. That led him to wonder if he loved her back. He didn't doubt her words when she had said it, but he let her take it back anyway. It was easier than having that discussion.

He thought about making that his first experiment. Or maybe he should just tell her. It wasn't the kind of thing he could take back if it didn't work out. He flipped back and forth on this idea until he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

To say that Sheldon was grumpy the next morning would be an understatement. He was tired and he didn't feel any better or clearer about what he should do about Amy. He paced around the apartment and tried to quell some of his nervousness.

Leonard came home from Penny's around noon to find Sheldon still pacing. "Hey, buddy. Is everything okay?"

"I can't figure out what that vixen has done to me, Leonard."

"Sit down. Let's talk about it."

Sheldon sat in his spot while Leonard brought him some hot chocolate. The hot beverage seemed to calm Sheldon down a little.

"Okay, tell me what happened," Leonard said.

"I threw out my timetable and then I kissed her. I wasn't very good at it and she was pretty good at it. Then, we came up with a plan to test our limits through a series of experiments," Sheldon told his friend. "Then I spent my whole night thinking about her. I feel like things are changing between us. I want things to go back to where I liked having her in my life, but I didn't need her."

"I hate to break it to you, but I think you might love her," Leonard said.

"I'm not a hippy, Leonard." Sheldon said, but he was secretly intrigued. It had been his own suspicion, but having Leonard confirm what he was thinking made it seem more real. "However, let's say that you are correct in your hypothesis, what is your evidence?"

Leonard smirked, it was the closest that Sheldon got to admitting his feelings for Amy that he had ever seen. "Well, you try really hard with her. When we were on that double date, I saw you make more compromises for her than I've ever seen you make for someone else. Also, I'm pretty sure that even you could see how much care about her when you two look into each other's eyes. I've been tempted to tell you two to get a room more than once when you two start staring at each other."


	12. Chapter 12

Leonard thinks I love you. How could we best test this hypothesis? Sheldon typed these words into an email to Amy and then deleted them before retyping them again. He didn't feel like himself because he was so uncertain about something. It was one thing to feel uncertain about an equation or the structure of things so small that he couldn't see them, but this was different. Sheldon was never unsure about how he felt about things.

Sheldon had already received two forms from Amy about experiments that she wanted to conduct, but he hadn't had the time to look over her ideas. It looked like one was about hugs and casual touching and the other involved kissing. The first one seemed pretty easy and the procedures didn't need any research. He was planning on okaying that one after he gave it a quick read through. He was going to read through the procedures and research on the kissing one before he would approve it.

Instead of getting anything done at work, Sheldon spent his day trying to figure out how to test if he loved Amy. It was the most important problem in the front of his mind. He had never been one to just go on faith, but that was starting to seem like the right answer. Maybe he should just believe that he _did_ love Amy and tell her. Maybe the fact that he wanted to tell her based on faith instead of evidence was enough evidence that he actually loved her. Sheldon's head hurt and he wanted to take a break.

It was nearly lunch time. Sheldon didn't feel like eating with the guys, so he thought about going out to get something to eat. Except that he didn't eat alone outside of his house and office. Then Sheldon looked up and saw the photo of Amy on his desk that she had left the last time she had been there to visit him. He pulled out his phone.

"Amy? I know we aren't scheduled to spend time together today, but would you like to meet me for lunch?"

"I need to finish extracting a brain tumor, but I can meet you in a half an hour. Where do you want to go?"

"Well, not your lab after hearing that. If you would be willing to pick me up, we could go to the Cheesecake Factory and I'll pay for your lunch to make up for the inconvenience."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you soon, Sheldon."

"See you."

Sheldon doodled for most of the next forty-five minutes. He couldn't focus on work anyway. Physics had always been his real love and now Amy was keeping him from it. He felt a little angry, but not at Amy. He was angry at himself. He couldn't bring himself to be angry at her or even try to stay away from her.

Amy texted Sheldon to let him know that she was there. She was glad that he had called. It was unusual for them to go out to lunch on a weekday, but it was nice to change things up every once in a while. Amy and Sheldon each broke into a smile as soon as they saw each other. He got in her car. She wanted to lean across the car and kiss him, but she reminded herself that they still weren't there yet. Instead, she just started driving to the Cheesecake Factory.

Penny was working and they were seated in her section. "Hey, guys. Did Leonard come with you?" Penny asked. She loved it when she could see her boyfriend in the middle of the day.

"Sorry. It's just us," Amy told her.

"It's okay. I love you guys too. The usual?"

"Yes," Sheldon answered for both of them. "Please be faster than normal because we both need to get back to work."

Penny rolled her eyes and took the menus from Sheldon.

"So, what led to your change in routine?" Amy asked once Penny was gone.

"I was working on a problem that I'm stuck on all morning. I needed to get out of my office."

"Do you want to talk about it? I know that I'm not a theoretical physicist, but maybe if you talked it out it would help."

"It isn't a physics problem."

"Is it fundraising again? I just want to say that I'm not comfortable with you engaging in coitus with anyone besides myself. I don't care how much money they will give you," Amy teased.

Sheldon smiled. He wasn't good at understanding teasing or sarcasm, but Amy usually tried to follow her teasing with a big enough smile to help Sheldon get it. "No. It isn't that. It's about us, actually."

"Us? If this is about my experiment forms, it's okay to turn down one or both of them. We can start with one of your ideas if you would feel better about it."

"No. I haven't even fully gone over your requests. My problem is something that doesn't really work for our experiment model. I've been struggling with it, but I think I'm going to have to just face it head on."

"Whatever it is, Sheldon, you can tell me. If it makes you feel better, I know there isn't anything that I can't tell you. You always listen and you always give me a thoughtful response. I hope you feel the same way about me."

"I do," Sheldon said as he looked into her eyes. She looked worried about his wellbeing and he decided that he was a certain as he could be that he loved her. It was time to tell her.

Sheldon swallowed and then took a deep breath. "I love you, Amy Farrah Fowler."

Amy put her hand over her mouth. There were a thousand things that she could have thought Sheldon was going to say in that moment, but that was never one of them. Their moment was short lived, though because there was a tremendous crash right next to their table. Penny had dropped an entire tray of drinks onto the floor.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Due to family obligations, I'm not sure if I will be able to keep up with my regular posting schedule over the next couple of weeks. I'll try my hardest to keep writing and posting. There are so many great Shamy stories being written right now that I know you guys will make it through. I still love you and long live the Shamy!**

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Penny knew that Sheldon cared about Amy. Anyone who spent more than ten minutes with the two of them could see it. That didn't mean that she thought she would ever hear him say that he loved her. Let alone that he would say it to Amy before she said it to him. Penny knew that if Amy had said that she loved Sheldon, she would have told her about it. That would be enough to make anyone drop a tray full of drinks for table twelve.

Sheldon looked over at the shards of glass and the liquid that was slowly making its way toward his shoes. He stood up and moved to other side of the table to escape the spilled drinks. Then he looked at Amy. He was afraid of her response even though she had previously told him that she loved him. Then he was worried that he had done something wrong because tears had started forming in the corners of her eyes.

As they fell, Sheldon started to panic. "Did I do it wrong? I wanted you to know, but I didn't really plan on telling you today. I should have researched this too," he told her.

She shook her head. "It was perfect. I love you too, Sheldon," Amy said before she leaned over and kissed Sheldon. She knew he would never approve. Still, Amy felt his lips move against hers for a moment before he pulled back.

"Amy, we're in public. Plus, we haven't done those experiments yet."

"I'm sorry, Sheldon. I let my feelings get ahead of my reasoning," Amy said.

"It's okay. I can count it as research toward your experiment request."

"Very well," Amy said. It was only then that she noticed that Penny had completely given up on cleaning up the drinks and was just staring open mouthed at the pair. Amy's face turned red. She wanted to bolt out of the restaurant, but Sheldon, in a rare show of insight to Amy's mind, took her hand.

"Penny, we're still waiting for our drinks," Sheldon said. That snapped Penny back to reality and she walked away. Amy didn't normally like it when Sheldon was rude to Penny, but she was glad that Penny had left. She was embarrassed that her friend had witnessed such a close moment between herself and Sheldon.

Penny came back and was all smiles. A busboy helped her clean up the drinks and the rest of the meal went like any other lunch between Sheldon and Amy. Except for the fact that Amy knew that Sheldon loved her. She could see it without a doubt in the way he look at her. After living her entire life feeling completely unseen, Sheldon saw her for who she really was.

After Amy dropped Sheldon back off at work, he found Leonard waiting in his office.

"Good Lord, can't that woman keep anything to herself for one minute?" Sheldon said as he saw his friend waiting for him.

"What woman? Did something happen?"

"Aren't you here because Penny told you what happened at lunch?"

"I'm here because Siebert wanted me to convince you to come to a fundraising party tonight. He came by at lunch and he wanted to see if you would come by tonight for a short presentation, but he also wanted you to know that you aren't allowed to directly interact with anyone."

"That's fine by me. Now, get out."

"Wait. What happened at lunch and why is Penny involved? And don't think I won't go to Penny if you don't tell me. You know she will."

Sheldon sighed. For once it was his own mouth that got him in trouble instead of Penny's. "I told Amy that I love her, and Penny overheard me. Despite your assurance that everyone knew that I love Amy, Penny did not. She dropped a tray of drinks, hence my ridiculous appearance."

Leonard thought Sheldon looked ridiculous, but in his completely normal way. It wasn't until Leonard saw a tiny splash of soda or something on Sheldon's pants that he realized what Sheldon was talking about. Leonard didn't want to get into it with Sheldon, so he rolled his eyes and left the office. He wanted to call Penny anyway.

"Yes, Leonard, he really said it. Then they kissed. It was like they were replaced by different versions of themselves," Penny said.

"I can't believe it," Leonard told her.

"I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't been there. I mean, everyone sort of knew that they love each other. It wasn't a secret, but Sheldon doesn't seem like the type to actually _say_ it. And then to let Amy kiss him like that. I've seen them kiss before, but it wasn't anything like that."

"You've seen them kiss before? How do you always end up witnessing these super weird things? If I believed in Bigfoot, I would bring you with me to try to catch him."

"Hey, Bigfoot is totally real."

Leonard thought about fighting her on that, but he had given up on her weird beliefs a long time ago. Plus, Sheldon told Amy that he loved her and then they kissed in a public place. Maybe there was more strangeness out there than he had ever known.

In another strange occurrence, Penny suggested that they keep the news to themselves. It didn't seem like the kind of thing that they should be sharing with their friends. Leonard agreed and loved that his girlfriend seemed to be showing a new sensitivity that she wasn't particularly known for. He wondered if he wasn't rubbing off on her a little bit.

Back in his office, Sheldon felt relieved that he had told Amy that he loved her. It seemed like such a risk before he said it, but now that it was done, he was only more sure it was true. After he looked over her requests again, Sheldon approved both of them. Then he got to work on some actual physics. He was happy that he could concentrate at work again. He wondered if it wasn't worth taking a risk every now and again. This one had worked out for him.


	14. Chapter 14

Sheldon and Amy saw each other a few times during the following week, but everything stayed normal between them. Other than Sheldon including a goodnight hug, they didn't touch each other during their meetings. There were no more declarations of love. To any outsider, their relationship was the same as it always was, but when Sheldon and Amy caught each other's eyes, they could see how much they loved each other.

On Thursday a week after they had told each other that they loved each other, Sheldon arranged to meet Amy at her apartment for their first round of experiments. It was agreed that it would be much better to keep it private. It was "anything can happen" Thursday, the other guys were spending the night at a bar, and Sheldon was happy to spend time with Amy even if he was nervous about what they were going to do.

He had printed out Amy's request and looked it over about a hundred times. They were starting with the casual touching set. The guys agreed to drop him off at Amy's before they went out, so at least he didn't have to take the bus. Plus, Leonard said he would give Sheldon a call when they were leaving if he wanted a ride home.

Knock Knock Knock "Amy."

Knock Knock Knock "Amy."

Knock Knock Knock "Amy."

Amy was near the door, but she waited until Sheldon finished knocking. She smiled on reflex upon seeing him standing there in her doorway. "Hi, Sheldon."

"Hi," Sheldon said shyly. Amy thought it was cute that he was nervous around her.

"Come in. I'm just finishing up dinner."

"You cooked?"

"Yeah. I thought that since you were going to miss out on dinner with the guys I would at least make you some spaghetti with cut up hot dogs."

Sheldon visibly relaxed. Amy knew him well and he knew that he was in good hands. Amy wasn't going to push him beyond what he could handle. Plus, most of the night's experiments were based on things that they had already done. They were just going to see what they could implement in the relationship on a regular basis. Sheldon took a seat at her table and waited for Amy to be done cooking. He offered to help, but she made him sit down. She knew all of this was hard enough for him. The least she could do was make him a dinner he liked.

Once dinner was over, Sheldon started feeling a little nervous again, but Amy's presence kept him calm. "Should we go sit on the couch?" he suggested after he finished helping her wash her dishes.

"Um. Sure," Amy said. She felt stupid for being nervous. It was her idea, and all they were going to do was some cuddling. It was exactly what she wanted from Sheldon.

Amy sat next to Sheldon on her couch. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. She could see that it had been folded and unfolded many times. It wasn't like him to have something in such a state of disrepair on him. He read from it again and outlined the procedures.

"First, I am supposed to put my arm around your shoulders without any other body parts touching," Sheldon said. "Are you ready?" Amy nodded and Sheldon put his hand on her right shoulder so that his arm rested across her shoulders. It was tense at first, but he moved to relax the muscles in his arm.

Sheldon held up the piece of paper and read from it, even though he had obviously memorized it. "Does that feel comfortable to you?" he asked Amy.

Amy thought about it and she liked that she could feel a tingle where Sheldon touched her. It had always been that way. Even when she grabbed his hand in an experiment outside of that bar year before, the tingle was there. Sheldon was different in that way. Amy didn't have the same hang ups about touching people that Sheldon did, but that didn't mean it was easy for her. Except with Sheldon. Hugging Penny or Bernadette or Leonard was work, hugging Sheldon was instinct.

"I like it," Amy finally said. "What do you think?"

"I find it... acceptable."

They were supposed to move on, but instead they stayed like that. Sheldon turned on the tv and Amy leaned into him a little before asking him if it was okay. He nodded. Amy wasn't sure she believed him, but then he started playing with a few strands of her hair. She was fine if they didn't move on to hugging or having a hand on his waist while standing. Amy felt like she already got everything she wanted. It wasn't until Sheldon had started trying so hard that Amy realized how much it was just little things like this that she missed. Knowing that Sheldon loved her and that he liked playing with her hair while he managed to cuddle with her on the couch made her feel like the luckiest person on the planet.

After about twenty minutes, Sheldon reminded her that they had other experiments to run. They stood up and hugged each other since that was next. When Amy had written the request, they had only hugged a few times, but it was comfortable for them both by the time they got around to the experiment. That actually made it feel a little silly to talk about. They both agreed that it felt acceptable.

The other casual touches, like a hand on the waist or on the arm, seemed rather awkward. That meant that they decided to shelve them for the time being. Sheldon had gone through every one of Amy's suggestions and they decided together if they liked them or not. He was such a good sport about the whole thing that Amy was practically buzzing.

In the end, they decided to continue the goodnight hug with an additional greeting hug when appropriate. They also decided that they would sit with his arm around her and her leaning into him if they both agreed it was comfortable for them. It could only happen at either of their homes or at a movie.

"Are you sure you are okay with that? It seems like a lot of touching," Amy said.

"Yes. You've allowed me to opt out if I feel uncomfortable with it at some point, but I enjoyed spending time with you tonight. I can't imagine that it would be much different another night."

"Okay."

"Amy, can I tell you something?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course. I always want to hear what you have to say."

"Sometimes I want to burn off my skin with acid when people touch me. I can feel them there for hours after a handshake or even an accidental bump. It's like torture. But not you. You've always been different. Even when you held my hand after we went to see Zack, I felt a tingle in my hand. I liked it. I've spent so much of the last couple of years trying to understand why I can handle it so much better when you touch me. I still don't know, but please understand, this is something that I want to do. Of course, I want you to be happy, but I'm doing this as much for me as I am for you."

To Amy, it was like he had told her that he loved her all over again. To know that, even thought it was hard, he wanted to touch her; to be with her. She was speechless.

It turned out that she didn't need to say anything. Sheldon just put his arm back around her as he flipped through the channels. They still had an hour to kill before Leonard was coming to pick Sheldon back up.


	15. Chapter 15

"So, what did you and Amy do on your big date night?" Leonard asked after they were back home.

"She made me dinner and then we watched TV," Sheldon told Leonard. Lies of omission were always easier for him to tell. He didn't want to talk about his secrets with Leonard.

"You seem like you are in a much better mood than you were when you left."

Sheldon thought about it for a moment. It wasn't just the fact that he wasn't nervous anymore about Amy. He was also just happy having spent time with Amy. "I guess I am."

"Well, I'm happy for you, Buddy."

"I'm not a hippie, Leonard," Sheldon said back. He started toward his room, but then decided to ask Leonard for a favor. "Do you think we could try to take Amy and Penny on another double date in a couple of weeks?"

"The last one didn't exactly go well. Are you sure you want to go on another one?" Leonard asked.

"That's why I want to go on another double date. I think that it meant a lot to Amy, and I want her to have a good one."

Leonard was startled by Sheldon's answer. Sheldon isn't a bad guy and he can be quite caring and thoughtful, but he rarely went so far out of his comfort zone for another person.

"Yeah. Okay. Let me know when and where, and I'll talk to Penny about it."

"Okay. Goodnight, Leonard," Sheldon said before he went back to his room. He was going to make sure that Amy had a good time. His research would be more thorough this time, but he would also let Amy know what he had planned. This time she wouldn't be wondering what he was up to all night. Of course, he still had to get through another round of experiments first.

Sheldon was nervous about kissing Amy. He was also a little excited. Amy had told him that she was going to make dinner again, so Sheldon offered to bring ice cream for dessert. He debated between his favorite and hers before he decided to just get something new. That's what Amy was bringing to his life; change. He was trying not to be terrified by it.

After Leonard dropped Sheldon off at Amy's apartment, he paced in her lobby for nearly ten minutes before he decided that the ice cream was melting and he needed to get it upstairs immediately. He knocked on Amy's door even though she had told him that he was welcome to just come in. Amy opened the door and whatever she was making smelled good. Sheldon handed over the ice cream and Amy put it in the freezer. She was curious about Sheldon's choice of vanilla fudge, but it sounded good enough.

"I made my grandmother's recipe for Shepard's pie. I hope you like it. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid," Amy said with a smile. She was nervous too, so her hands shook a little as she handed him a plate. Sheldon took the plate from her, set it down, and took her hand.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," Sheldon told her when she looked up at him. She could see the concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. I know I like kissing you. We've just never scheduled it before," Amy told him.

"Well. I've changed my mind. I'm too nervous. Can we just have dinner and maybe watch a movie?" Sheldon asked.

"Of course. Did I do something wrong? Did I make the wrong dinner?"

"No. This dinner is very good even if I've never had it before. I've just decided that I can't do it tonight after all. I'm sorry," Sheldon said. He seemed sad and still nervous. Amy was worried about pushing him too far, so she didn't bring it up again. Instead, Sheldon got caught up telling her about Raj trying out his new found ability to talk to women in the cafeteria at work. It was a pretty funny story, but Sheldon still seemed nervous.

When they finished eating, Sheldon went to sit on the couch. He pulled up a movie, but he didn't pay any attention to it. He only thought of this phase of his plan about forty-five minutes earlier. He wasn't sure how to implement it.

Amy sat down and she thought that Sheldon was going to put his arm around her like he had done the last time. He didn't. They just sat there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"Amy, can I?" Sheldon started.

"What was that?" Amy asked.

"Amy, can I kiss you?" Sheldon finally asked. He had told her that he didn't want to kiss her so that she could have a comfortable dinner.

"Uh. I mean, yeah. Do you want me to go brush my teeth first?" Amy asked.

Sheldon debated that for a moment. He was afraid he would lose his nerve if he didn't do it right then, but he would be more comfortable if they both brushed their teeth. He nodded and Amy went into the bathroom. Sheldon had brought his own toothbrush and decided to brush his teeth in the kitchen sink. It was weird and faster than he normally would, but it was better than nothing. He was waiting for Amy on the couch when she came back out a couple of minutes later.

Amy leaned toward Sheldon and tried to remember everything she knew about kissing. Then she waited. It was Sheldon's idea to initiate the kiss, so she was going to make him do it. He hesitated for a moment while he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Then Sheldon leaned the rest of the way in and pressed his lips to Amy's. It was a little awkward at first, but then Sheldon found that place in his head that didn't over analyze everything and he found that he enjoyed kissing Amy.

He wasn't afraid of the germs. All the could think about was how he could taste her mint toothpaste and how warm and soft her lips were against his. He didn't even notice when his hands reached out to touch her hair and then her shoulders. They probably would have kept moving down, but Amy suddenly pulled back.

"Sorry, I just got a little dizzy. I think I forgot to breathe," Amy said. She reached up to her lips and pressed her fingers to them. She could still feel his lips on hers.

"Let me know if you are ready to continue," Sheldon said with a smile. He decided that he liked kissing Amy, but he couldn't trust the results based off of one kiss. There were need to be many more trials first.

What was supposed to be a test to see how much Sheldon could handle while kissing Amy had somehow turned into a make out session on her couch. Amy wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but when she realized that her lips were swollen from Sheldon's kisses and her sweater was draped over the arm of the couch, she knew that it was really happening.

Sheldon liked the sensations that came with kissing Amy. He felt silly for being nervous, but there was a certain freedom that came with letting go. He wasn't going to start throwing out his whole schedule or anything like that. He was just going to keep kissing Amy for as long as she would let him. Maybe when he had time to analyze it later, he would regret letting it go so far. He didn't care. The feeling of Amy's lips against his and her body under his hands had him fascinated.

When they broke apart to catch their breaths, Amy noticed it was nearly 11 o'clock. She pointed this fact out to Sheldon who checked his phone. There was a text telling him that Leonard had gone to bed and that he would need to find his own way home.

"Oops," Sheldon said after he told Amy.

She laughed and said, "Let me get my keys."

"Thanks, Amy."

"My pleasure," Amy said with a wink.

That made Sheldon blush a little bit, but he was happy that she enjoyed it. He found it stimulating in more than one way.

Amy came back out with her keys. She put her sweater back on and walked with Sheldon down to her car.

The streets of Pasadena were pretty quiet because of the late hour. Amy didn't know what to say to Sheldon. She thought he would barely be able to actually kiss her. Then he surprised her by doing even more.

"We didn't decide when kissing would be acceptable," Amy said as she neared Sheldon's building.

"No. We didn't. I think that I would like to have a couple more nights like tonight before we make any decisions. My thinking wasn't exactly clear, so I would like to spend some more time alone with you before I decide what is acceptable. Is that okay?"

"Yes. That seems like a good idea. Thanks for tonight," Amy said as she came to a stop to let him out.

"Thanks for dinner. It was good," Sheldon told her. He seemed to be lingering in her car longer than he normally would.

"Is there something else?" she prompted.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a double date again with Leonard, Penny, and myself?"

"You didn't particularly enjoy it the last time. Are you sure that is something you want?"

"I want to spend time with you. Leonard and Penny are our friends, so I think I can make it work. I also think it will go much better this time because I am not going to try to prove to anyone that I love you. We both already know it."

"Okay. It sounds like fun. When is this date?"

"Next Friday."

Then Sheldon leaned over. He was going to give Amy a hug like he normally would at the end of a date, but car hugs were always very awkward. He decided to just kiss her once more on the lips before getting out of the car.

Amy watched as Sheldon walked into his building. He was such a strange man, but she loved him all the more for it.

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**A/N: Just one more chapter after this one. Thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys are the coolest. I hope you are still enjoying the story. **


	16. Chapter 16

** A/N: This is the last chapter of this story. Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed. It means so much to me that people liked my story. I hope you guys like this chapter. It's been a wild ride. I love you, and long live the Shamy! **

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Sheldon planned for them all to go to the planetarium and dinner. He also wanted to go to the train museum, but Leonard put a stop to that. It was going to be hard enough to get Penny to go to the planetarium.

"Leonard, how do you find out a woman's favorite flower without actually asking? I want to surprise Amy with flowers on our date," Sheldon asked.

"I thought you hated flowers."

"I do, but Amy likes them. Do you have any ideas or not?"

"You could ask Penny or Bernadette. They are in a much better position to answer that than I am. They either know or would know how to find out."

"Fine," Sheldon said before walking out of the apartment.

After knocking on Penny's door and waiting for a few minutes, it was clear that she wasn't there. He pulled out his phone and called, but she didn't answer. He then tried to call Bernadette, but she didn't answer either. Sheldon really wanted to know what kind of flowers to get Amy. It became a bit of an obsession, so he decided to just go to the Cheesecake Factory and ask Penny in person.

The lunch rush was crazy even for a Saturday, so Penny didn't have any time to check her phone when she felt it buzzing in her pocket. That's why it was a surprise when Sheldon appeared next to her out of nowhere. She was getting the orders of a table of old ladies who seemed to be taking a long time deciding what they wanted.

"Penny, do you know Amy's favorite flower?"

"Sheldon, I'm working."

"You're standing here while they stare at menus. You can answer one question."

Penny rolled her eyes, but she knew it would be easier to just answer his question and get rid of him. "Fine. What was your question again?"

"What is Amy's favorite kind of flowers?"

"I don't know, Sheldon. Isn't this a question for Amy?"

"I want to surprise her. I can't very well do that if I've asked her what kind of flowers she likes."

Penny thought that was a good point. She thought about it for a minute. Her table looked ready to order, so she tried to be fast. "I think she told me that she likes Calla Lilies once. I don't know if they are her favorite, but she definitely likes them. Go with those,"

"Thanks, Penny," Sheldon said. Then he was gone just as fast as he had arrived.

Sheldon stopped by a florist on his way back home and put in an order. Now that the date was planned, he felt better about it.

By the time Friday night came around, Sheldon was a little nervous again. He was ironing his t-shirt and getting ready for the date. He had informed Leonard that they needed to stop by the florist on the way to Amy's and that the show at the planetarium started promptly at seven.

Leonard and Sheldon went to pick up Penny. Sheldon waited patiently while Leonard and Penny kissed and flirted, but he was a little jealous. He knew how that felt with Amy now. He was missing her. He was relieved when they finally went down to the car.

Penny took the front seat and Leonard drove to the florist. When Sheldon got out, Leonard followed him. As soon as he found out which florist Sheldon had gone to Leonard placed his own order. There was no way he was being one-upped by Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon's lilies and Leonard's roses were ready when they stepped up to the counter. The men paid and went back out to the car. Leonard handed the flowers to Penny.

"Sweetie, they're great. Thank you so much," Penny said before kissing Leonard again.

They pulled up to Amy's building and Sheldon jumped out of the car. He was excited to see his girlfriend. He knocked on her door in his usual pattern and waited. Usually, she would open the door as soon as he finished, but she didn't this time, so he waited. After about thirty seconds he knocked again, and when he was done he heard a faint request to come in.

Sheldon opened the door and walked in. "Amy?" he shouted.

"I'm so sorry, Sheldon. I got held up at work. I just need another minute to finish getting ready. Help yourself to anything," Amy yelled from the bathroom.

Sheldon just stood there awkwardly holding the flowers he had brought. It was five minutes later when Amy finally came out of the bathroom. Sheldon would have been upset that she was taking so long, but the way she looked cleared his mind of that. She was in a dress with short sleeves with leggings. There were far fewer layers than normal and Sheldon thought she looked beautiful. He almost forgot to give her the flowers.

"Are those for me?" Amy asked as she pointed to the lilies in his hand.

"Um. Yes," Sheldon said as he handed them over.

"They're lovely. Thank you," Amy said as she put them in her kitchen. She admired them for a moment longer before turning back to Sheldon. "I guess we should get going. Are Leonard and Penny downstairs?"

"Yes. I suppose they are waiting for us. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Amy grabbed her bag and walked toward the door, but as soon as she got within arm's reach of Sheldon he grabbed her and pulled her close to him. He looked into her eyes for a moment as if asking permission and Amy nodded minutely. Then he placed a soft kiss on her lips before letting her go again.

They walked down the stairs hand in hand. Sheldon opened the door for Amy before getting in on the other side. Sometimes he was glad that his mother and grandmother had been so strict about learning manners because it made him a better boyfriend to Amy.

They got to the planetarium with ten minutes to spare. Sheldon went to find seats after they bought tickets. Leonard, Penny, and Amy went to get a drink before the show started. It was supposed to be about black holes. Penny claimed that she was going to need a drink before she could sit through that. Amy thought it sounded fascinating, and she listened to Leonard try to explain why black holes were important. Penny wasn't having any of it.

Sheldon found them and told them that he had found good seats, but they would have to hurry or someone else would steal them. Amy followed him over and they worked to save the seats until their friends found their way over. Amy slid into the seat next to Sheldon and he put his arm around her. It was comfortable and she was glad that they had worked it out before trying it in public. She remembered the last double date and how she was wondering what he was up to the whole night. Now, she knew that he was just trying to be a good boyfriend and that he loved her. So much had changed in a few weeks.

Leonard and Penny came over and claimed the two seats next to Sheldon and Amy. The lights came down and Amy leaned into Sheldon a little as she looked up. He was so warm and sturdy against her. It was nice.

Despite Penny's objections, everyone thought the show was interesting. Penny wouldn't admit it, but even she liked it. Amy spent much of the evening trying not to giggle when Sheldon made comments in her ear. The feeling of his breath on her neck was amazing and she loved that he didn't seem afraid of her anymore. He'd told her she was different, but she was only starting to believe it.

Sheldon was glad that Amy appreciated his comments. Everyone else usually just told him to shut up, but Amy always listened and often laughed when he spoke. He loved her laugh. He wished he heard it more often.

When the show was over, the two couples went back to Leonard's car. Sheldon was complaining about some minor inaccuracy while Leonard rolled his eyes at his friend. Amy had fallen behind a little bit and when Sheldon noticed he stopped walking and put his hand out toward her. When she was close enough, he grabbed her hand and they walked the rest of the way to the car together. Amy had told him enough times that they didn't have to hold hands that she didn't bother trying to object anymore. Sheldon could do what he wanted.

They went to an Italian restaurant that Sheldon liked. He usually only got take out, but the restaurant had a nice atmosphere. They got a quiet table by a window. There were candles on the table, and Sheldon hoped that it was adequately romantic. Sheldon pulled out the seat for Amy and glared at Leonard until he did the same for Penny.

"This place is very nice, Sheldon," Penny admitted after they sat down.

They made small talk and ordered. It was actually kind of peaceful and fun. Sheldon could begin to see why people went out with their friends. Now that he wasn't trying to prove anything to anyone it was much more fun. Plus, Amy seemed happy and that was his real goal.

The waiter came back to give them the dessert menu. Amy smiled when she thought about Sheldon sharing her ice cream before. They didn't have vanilla ice cream, but they did have a couple of flavors of gelato. They also had zeppole, which she also loved.

"Are you getting anything?" Sheldon asked her.

"I'm still trying to decide between gelato and zeppole. Are you getting anything?"

Before Sheldon could answer the waiter reappeared. Amy was just about to tell him that they needed more time when Sheldon cut her off. Then he ordered both.

"We'll share," he told Amy when she looked at him.

"You guys are so cute. When did that happen?" Penny asked. She had had a couple of glasses of wine, so her filter wasn't as strong as it might have been.

Amy just looked at Sheldon. He'd always been cute. She just felt cute by association.

"Ask Amy. She's the cute one," Sheldon said and then he put his arm back around her again.

Leonard sounded a little disturbed when he said, "Ugh. You guys _are_ cute. I can't handle a cute Sheldon Cooper."

Everyone but Sheldon laughed.

They wrapped up dinner, including Sheldon and Amy sharing their desserts. Then they drove back to 2311 Los Robles. Leonard offered to drop Amy back at her apartment, but Sheldon wanted her to come over for a while.

Leonard went over to Penny's for a while. He said that he would come back to drive Amy home in about an hour.

"Thank you for such a nice evening, Sheldon," Amy said once they were alone.

"I'm glad you had fun. Would you like a cup of tea?" Sheldon offered.

"Yes, please."

They sat on the couch and relaxed for a while. Amy leaned into Sheldon's side. It felt like he was made for her to fit there.

It was quiet until Sheldon said, "Can I kiss you, Amy?"

"Yes," Amy said. It was barely above a whisper, but Sheldon had no problem hearing her.

He leaned down and kissed her. Once. Then again. Then several more times, until she was seated on his lap and they were passionately kissing. Amy had her hands in Sheldon's hair and he had his hands wrapped around her body. That was where Leonard and Penny found them when they came back to drive Amy home. They promptly walked back of of the apartment.

"Maybe we should give them some more time," Penny said suppressing a giggle.

"Yeah. I'm going to need that time to try to burn that image out of my head." Leonard said as they walked back into Penny's apartment.


End file.
